Cape Coast, Accra and Beyond

I don't feel like writing much (lucky you!) but wanted to add some pictures of what I've been up to at least.

Friday I hosted my first dinner party at my house! In the dark of course because the power went out as I was cooking. 

Saturday: Beyin and Nzulezo

Nzulezo is a village built on stilts and only accessible by an hour canoe ride. It felt a bit awkward walking through the village as people are laying around, cooking, children bathing, men building fishing nets and they're all ignoring you because you're just another white tourist walking through their town. No one really cared they were there except of course to pay a donation so they could afford teachers for the one primary school there. To send a child past primary school they have to canoe about 2 hours away, so almost no one gets an education. The canoe ride itself was worth the visit. Absolutely stunning. 

Didn't see much of Beyin but stayed at a really nice beach front resort. Early morning stroll along the beach was extremely relaxing.

Our canoe guide

Nzulezo stilt village

Beyin beach

Random cow getting some early morning beach time

Delicious fruit for breakfast

Sunday: Cape Coast

Toured Cape Coast Castle, which was one of the many forts along Ghana's coast that exported slaves during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. As expected a very sobering history but worth seeing.

Fishing Village right outside the "Door of No Return"

Monday: Kakum National Park Canopy Walk

About 30 minutes outside of Cape Coast is Kakum National Park, famous for its very touristy, very rickety, but still stunning canopy walk. 

This Week July 8-12: Accra

Came to Accra to conduct interviews with health stakeholders at the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and various Health Council as part of a separate project from the one I have been working on in Kumasi. However, I also asked some of the people I interviewed if I could use their responses for my study as it helped inform what the government thinks about private health training institutions.

Thursday, a CapacityPlus colleague of mine led a training on Monitoring & Evaluation for members of the organizations mentioned above. I simply observed and worked on my report in the corner but it was a really great training and I am glad I got to be there.

The group of government employees were there to learn how to incorporate monitoring and evaluation into their new national policy and strategy for human resources for health. Today and tomorrow, a CapacityPlus consultant will continue to work with them on designing the implementation plan for the National Human Resources for Health Policy and Strategy. The policy/strategy was supposed to be for 2012-2016, since their last strategy ended 2011, however progress seems to have been put on hold this past year.

M&E Training

Seems a common theme in this country (I can only speak to what I've learned here but my instinct is that this happens in many countries) that donor organizations, like CapacityPlus/IntraHealth, WHO, World Bank, etc come in with all their different priorities and try to get the same government officials to work on their projects. When the consultant or whatever from that donor company isn't actually in-country working directly with the government officials to get their project done, it sits there. It's the same thing that seems to have happened at GCUC, which is why I have discovered things about the school in the past month that no one working on the project for the past year knew about. The whole thing makes me a bit weary of international health work to be honest. Still sorting through all my thoughts/feelings on the matter but right now feeling a bit jaded.

Final Stretch

I will be back in North Carolina in one week! I have to admit I am so ready to go home..it's been quite the adventure and I have learned a lot and met some great people, but I have also met some really shady people and been harassed one too many times. Also, while I have enjoyed some touristy things, I would not say Ghana is anywhere in my top countries I have visited. Am I getting cranky in my old age?? Maybe...or maybe I am just really over trusting people here only to find they have actually been making really subtle (some not so subtle) yet inappropriate, and completely unwelcome, advances. Ugh.

I have a lot left to do on my report but am really only still in Ghana for this last week because the grant I received to come to Ghana requires the international internship to be 6 weeks minimum. I have at least one more meeting with stakeholders back in Kumasi but I mostly just need to write my report, which I can anywhere.

However, I am a positive type person so I am going to make the best of my last week here, and do my best to avoid the people that are making it hard to like this country. This afternoon I fly back to Kumasi and I am heading straight to Lake Bosumtwi, the lake I visited on my first weekend here with the creepy dude. I am staying two nights at The Green Ranch, which is run by expats, serves all locally grown vegetarian food and has horseback riding!! I'll be doing their all day horseback riding trip around the lake tomorrow, which takes about 9-10 hours including a picnic lunch - I can't wait!

Ciao for now!